This invention relates to chairs for homes and more particularly to a recliner chair having a body support unit, including a seat and back rest assembly which is adjustable on a stationary base between an upright position and a fully reclined position. Recliner chairs are well known in the art. They allow an occupant of the chair the choice of upright and reclined positions. Some serve a dual purpose by also providing a rocker mode wherein the body support unit is released from the base for rocking back and forth on the base.
One deficiency in the prior art is that many recliner chairs provide limited choices for positioning the body support unit on the base, in many cases, only two are available, namely, an upright position and a fully reclined position. This restricts the utility of a recliner chair, and is particularly limiting when an occupant is watching television or conversing with others. In those chairs which are adjustable between the upright and fully reclined positions, their operating mechanisms are either complex, costly, of limited adjustment or functionally deficient.
Schliephacke U.S. Pat. No. 2,999,719 and Re' U.S. Pat. No. 3,244,448 are exemplary of the prior art. Schliephacke discloses a recliner chair having only two choices for positioning a body support unit on a stationary base, i.e., an upright position and a fully reclining position. Re' discloses a recliner chair, including a complex mechanism for adjusting a body support on a stationary base with neither positive means for fixing the body support unit on the base nor self adjusting means to compensate for normal wear.
With the foregoing in mind, it is apparent that there is a need for improvements in recliner chairs.